I'm sitting in a small caf at night, notebook in hand, enjoying chai tea. It's busier than I thought it would be, with only a couple of vacant tables. I'm staring at the table top. It's one of those reflective, silver finishes that look as if it has three-dimensional ridges even though the surface is flat. It ought to have depth, but doesn't.

I'm reminded of the importance of depth, or rather digging deep to get the information you need when developing a proposal or report. It's very easy to sit back and simply scratch the surface of a situation. It seems very straightforward, that is until you start to probe beneath that surface. I know a senior executive who was appointed president of a company requiring a major reorganization. The firm I worked with was asked to help with the reorganization. The information we'd received from the vice president of human resources was that this reorganization, though tough, should go smoothly.

Wanting to be sure that there wasn't more to the situation, I probed deeper. I asked the president what he had found when first assuming his new position. This forced the president to think back and review the experience of taking over, especially the reactions of the company's executive and staff. It was very different from the initial information we had been given.

It's vital to get past the veneer. What you unearth may tell you a number of things:

1. The real situation may be different from what you think it is.

2. The real situation may be different from what the client thinks it is.

3. The real situation will no longer fit, or may not fit, the solution you had in mind.

It's important to have the client think through the situation. It's quite possible that they have not thought it through, or determined the impact of a particular course of action. One of the ways I like to probe is as follows:

Why do you want to do this? Client answers.

So that what happens? Client answers.

In order to do what? Client answers.

So that what happens? Client answers.

This kind of probing will often allow you to dig deeper, to get the real story or at least a much better understanding of what is going on, and therefore what the client needs. It's a solid basis for developing an effective report or proposal.

Neil Sawers develops books and e-books to help entrepreneurs, small business and students write more easily and effectively. Visit us at http://www.howtowriteproposals.com and download our free chapters containing key tools to help you get your message across in the way you want.

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